• Acupuncture – let’s not forget how this wonderful pregnancy was even achieved!  After back-to-back miscarriages in 2011/2012 I sought the assistance of Traditional Chinese Medicine at CNY Rochester.  I was overwhelmingly pleased with the care I received there and would highly recommend the acupuncture and TCM to anyone.  I saw Heather through about the first 10 weeks of the pregnancy, but then stopped going because it was so hard to fit it in with our summer activities.
• Perinatologist – I began seeing the perinatologist in July because of the previous two miscarriages.  I will never, ever, ever forget, as long as I live, the JOY I felt seeing TWO beautiful heartbeats on the monitor on July 2, 2012.  While most of the day was spent celebrating Nigel’s 10th birthday I will never forget the feeling of “specialness” I had that day as I just reveled in God’s generosity. 
  Of course – we continued with frequent, FREQUENT, visits to our wonderful perinatologist throughout the pregnancy.  Not all the of the visit were joy-producing.  Frankly, the overwhelming majority of them were concerning or heartbreaking.  But, I am so glad God saw fit to have my path cross with that particular office. 
• OB/GYN – yeah – most pregnancies require one of these, or a midwife.  I have a really great one.  And I saw him regularly.
• Chiropractor – okay – this is a little less obvious.  November 2011 I damaged my tailbone.  Remember this post?  Then in February 2012 I fell down the stairs.  While it started to heal in the summer of 2012, it got decidedly worse in the fall.  The pregnancy hormone, relaxin, kept my tailbone sort of mushy and regular bi-weekly visits to the chiropractor kept me somewhat sane.  I only wish I had started to go earlier.  It has been significantly better since I stopped driving around so much, but it likely will not be completely healed until after Ducky gets here and I have a few post-partum visits.
• Optometrists – multiple ones.  Back in October I used up my last pair of soft contact lenses.  I went to Walmart, where I have been going for the last few years.  There was a new doctor there; the person I liked had moved elsewhere.  My eyesight traditionally changes minimally from year to year.  The last year or so it maintained at –3.25.  After seeing this new doctor he changed me to –4.50.  This new change was tremendous.  The contacts really bothered me.  I wore them two weeks and went back to talk to him about it.  He insisted they were fine and when I told him I could no longer read books he had me buy some $5 “cheater” glasses.  I tried.  I really did.  This did not work.  I was getting frustrated.  I mentioned this to a co-worker and she suggested I go see her father-in-law at Pearle Vision.  I did.  He rocked.  He also detected that what I was on that day (almost a month later) was now –5.25!  Are you kidding me?????  HOWEVER, he felt it was pregnancy related and, gee, by the way, had my doctor talked to me at all about gestation diabetes?…
• Did I mention my OB/GYN?  Did I mention the polyhydramnios?  Yes.  I have.  See – polyhydramnios is often correlated with gestation diabetes.  The drastic vision changes concerned ALL my providers and just before Thanksgiving I got my very own glucometer and a crash review in diabetic education.  A month’s worth of checking my sugar two hours after meals strongly suggested I am not diabetic. 

  Are you laughing, yet?

• Dermatologist – Yes – even one of THESE!  When I was post-partum for Marie in 2004 the nail bed on my left thumb started to split.  When I was pregnant for Tabitha in 2006 it happened again.  In both cases I need to see a dermatologist to inject an exceptionally painful amount and type of steroid UNDER the left thumb nail.  Johanna spared me the experience, but imagine my horror when it began again in November.  It took 4 weeks to get in.  (It still is not healed.)
• Urgent Care – Early November brought a quick and POWERFUL upper respiratory infection that knocked me for a loop.  My rapidly growing, fluid-filled belly was making breathing that much more difficult and I woke one Sunday morning unable to swallow food.  Urgent care to the rescue. 
• Non-Stress Tests – Late November I started with weekly Non-Stress Tests at Unity Perinatal.  24 miles from home.
• Ultrasounds – Late September I started with monthly, then bi-weekly ultrasounds

  Other FUN pieces

• My right great toe is deep, dark purple.  This might be because I had my right saphenous vein ablated in 2009, or just because of the compression stockings.  It hurts to walk.  Every step hurts.  No,  you probably  have not heard me complain about it.  But my kids have.  I still have mobility and sensation, so I ‘m not THAT worried.  My children are HORRIFIED.
• Compression stockings. 
• Pitting edema
• Petechiae  – painless, most likely temporary (except a few spots always stay).  Horrifies the children.

These are some pictures from over the weekend.  My belly is about as big now as it was mid-December before the abrupt decrease in fluid.  But I only have +/- 2 weeks left.  And we are getting excited. 
And because I love all of you, I am NOT sharing the pictures of my fluid-filled feet or my scraggly old thumb nail.